A photo of Wendell Berry and his audience in Louisville yesterday can be found HERE.
In choosing a theme for the commission, Mr. Scribner says, "We never seriously contemplated anything other than something that celebrates our Earthly home. It's a subject that's absolutely universal and unifying. There are many political views about the Earth, but no one disputes the fact that in some way, shape, or form we have to take care of our home."
The concert is a work in seven movements. Symphonic choruses are based on texts, and four of the movements are poems by the poet Wendell Berry, who was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2010. According Mr. Scribner, the poetry of Mr. Berry "forms the heart and soul of the piece."
Also see Washingtonian
"A few years ago, while searching for a text for a piece commissioned by the Syracuse Vocal Ensemble, I came across some of Berry's poems," Kortekangas said. "Didn't know his work, had never heard of him, so it was 'love at first sight.' I think he's a great poet, a great thinker and somebody who lives the way he preaches, which is rare."
Wendell Berry was an influential writer who was captivated by nature and the country. This book brings together selected works written by Berry alongside biographical information about the author. This combination serves to explore how Berry's personal life influenced his writing.
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Take a look at Vivian Jauregui's creative presentation of work by Wendell Berry.
Wendell Berry: A Quieter Life Now
In an exchange of letters with a dear friend, Berry explains why his writing is only a small part of the movement against greed and waste.
President Barack Obama awarded former University of Kentucky student and creative writing professor Wendell Berry one of only 10 National Humanities Medals for outstanding achievements in history, literature, education and cultural policy.
Berry is renowned for his achievements as a poet, novelist, farmer and conservationist. The author of more than 40 books, Berry has spent his career exploring our relationship with the land and the community.
Berry received bachelor's and master's degrees at UK, later returning for two separate stints of teaching as well. UK Provost Kumble Subbaswamy said the university community is proud of Berry's latest national honor."We take particular pride in the award of a National Humanities Medal to Wendell Berry, our alumnus and revered former faculty member," Subbaswamy said. "As an acclaimed author and conservationist, he is an inspiration to all who come into contact with him and his literary work."
via www.as.uky.edu
Friday, May 20 -- Louisville-- Carmichael's Bookstore and Heine Brothers Coffee present the third annual Louisville Loves Mountains Festival, a fundraiser for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. Longest Avenue at BARDSTOWN ROAD will be closed to host a street party, concert and author event. The festival celebrates the unique natural beauty and ecological importance of Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains and is designed to educate the community on the destructive practice of mountain top removal mining. Festivities begin at 4pm with music, beer and food, and continue until 10pm with speakers, poets, bands, and entertainment. Wendell Berry will deliver the keynote address at 6pm and Sally Campbell, author of Saving Kentucky, will speak at 7pm. Additional participants include readings by Affrilachian poets, a rousing performance by the River City Drum Corps, and music from the Reel World String Band, Relic, Appalatin and more. Carmichael's Bookstore - 1295 BARDSTOWN ROAD, Louisville KY 40204 - (502) 456-6950
via www.examiner.com
Speakers included U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, author and filmmaker Eric Schlosser, and poet Wendell Berry. Yet the most surprising and memorable speech was made by the Prince of Wales on the crucial need for the world agriculture industries to adopt sustainable farming practices for the sake of global health and economic security.
Prince Charles is a long-time supporter of organic and sustainable farming, but this speech took his advocacy a step further, urging government officials and global agriculture industries to re-evaluate the current food structure in favor of more sustainable practices in order to secure the resilience of our planet as well as our global economy.
“Questioning the conventional world view is a risky business. And the only reason I have done so is for the sake of your generation and for the integrity of Nature herself.”
The prince painted a grim picture of the current food system, arguing that it is depleting our resources and weakening our food system and economies at unprecedented rates.
via www.kqed.org
Look at yours truly, graduated from the most coveted business school in the Lower Mainland, with honors, no less. But I can attest to the fact with all four limbs high in the air that nothing I have learned cannot be read about in the Financial Post, which means, in short, I've spent four precious summer years of my life on pure bullshits. I still read up on the world of finance to keep abreast of human follies, and absolutely nothing new has emerged since the day I graduated: the world of money is still as fucked up as ever.Where was Wendell Berry when I was eighteen?*******************************An excerpt from Wendell Berry's essay Higher Education and Home DefenseEverywhere, every day, local life is being discomforted, disrupted, endangered, or destroyed by powerful people who live, or who are privileged to think they live, beyond the bad effects of their bad work.
A powerful class of itinerant professional vandals is now pillaging the country and laying it waste. Their vandalism is not called by that name because of its enormous profitability (to some) and the grandeur of its scale. If one wrecks a private home, that is vandalism, but if, to build a nuclear power plant, one destroys good farmland, disrupts a local community, and jeopardizes lives, home, and properties within an area of several thousand square mile, that is industrial progress.
via offscreen-space.blogspot.com
A powerful post on the complexity of discerning a path in life.